ABSTRACT
Advances in disease-resistant oil palm varieties Tristan Durand-Gasselin, Benoît Cochard and Hubert de Franqueville, PalmElit-CIRAD, France
1 Introduction
2 Key issues
3 Achievements in improving genetic resistance to oil palm diseases
4 Conclusion
5 Future trends
6 Tribute to Hubert de Franqueville
7 References
There are many known pests that can damage the oil palm (Corley and Tinker, 2016). Although some cases of limited difference between varieties may occur, such discrepancies have been poorly documented and no specific breeding work has been undertaken to generate pest-resistant varieties. However, it is remarkable that interspecific hybrids (E. oeifera × E. guineensis) are generally less appealing to pests as compared to E. guineensis varieties. We will only consider resistance to diseases in this chapter.
